Pak removes Ahmedi advisor after protests
Protest against Atif being economic advisor
Pakistan will not fight any other nation’s war: Imran
The government on Friday has asked Princeton University economist Atif R. Mian — an Ahmedi by faith — to step down from the Economic Advisory Council ( EAC) as clerics protested against his appointment.
The pronouncement was made by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek- e- Insaf ( PTI) senator Faisal Javed Khan on Twitter.
According to him, Atif Mian had agreed over the demand and a replacement will be announced later. The development was also confirmed by minister of information Fawad Chaudhry afterwards. He maintained that the government has decided to withdraw the nomination of Mr Mian as it wants to move forward alongside all ulema ( clerics) and social groups while avoiding conflict.
He went on to say that the ideal state according to Prime Minister Imran Khan was of Madina whereas the Premier and his Cabinet members loved the Prophet Mohammed dearly. “Khatm- e- Nabuwwat ( finality of the Prophethood) is a part of our faith and the recent success achieved by the government over the matter of blasphemous sketches also expresses the same association,” he wrote.
Atif Mian, an MIT- educated Pakistani- American economics professor at Princeton University, was recently named member of a new economic advisory council. Government officials initially defended the decision, but within days caved to mounting pressure from the politicians and religious lobby.
The first session of the EAC was presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The participants pledged to introduce major changes to the federal budget 2018- 19 to make it ‘ realistic’.
The meeting decided to set up three working groups on debt, fiscal challenges and current account deficit. Moreover, the matter pertaining to collection of taxes and increase in exports was also debated during the session. However; no discussion by EAC on approaching International Monetary Fund for a bailout was made. PM Khan said since the socio- economic development and needs of lower and middle classes were totally neglected in the past, the economic progress of downtrodden and middle income classes was the central point of PTI government’s economic policies.
Giving the example of “Riasat- e- Madina ( state of Madina)”, he asserted it was for the first in human history when the state worked for lower and downtrodden classes and that historic step not only helped the deprived and poor to stand on their feet, but they also emerged as a great power in the world. Islamabad, Sept. 7: 9PTI) Pakistan will never fight any other country’s war in future, prime minister Imran Khan said Thursday, asserting that he was against the war from the very beginning and his government’s foreign policy will be in the best interest of the nation.
Prime minister Khan was addressing the Defence and Martyrs Day ceremony organised by the Army at its headquarters in Rawalpindi and attended by parliamentarians, diplomats, sportspersons, artists among others.
Talking about the devastation and sufferings caused due to the war on terror, Khan said, “I was against this war from the very beginning.”
“We will not become part of a war of any other country ( in future)... Our foreign policy will be in the best interest of the nation,” he said.
He, however, praised Pakistani armed forces for combating terrorism. “No other nation has fought the war on terror like the Pakistan Army,” he said. He said role of security forces and intelligence agencies in making the country safer against all threats was unparalleled.
Mr Khan also talked about investing in human capital by sending children to schools and building hospitals.